Didn't expect that I delayed this one for a year, wow.
"Expelliarmus!"
One right movement from his left hand and a clear voice, the stick on the dummy's hand is snatched away and flown away.
"Finally." The Boy-Who-Lived sighs in relief as he retracts his left wand into its holder and starts writing on the note about the spell he just performed. "It's more challenging than I thought."
"That's why you don't see many dual-wielders." The dark Oracle lazily addresses as she lies flat on her diary. "You're gonna practice a lot to get some muscle memories."
The new semester has started for a couple of weeks, and everything goes as normal, at least in a Magical World standard.
Now knowing that there's someone out there who's still out for his blood, Harry started using some of his free time between doing homeworks to practice spells, both simple and advanced. Especially about using spells on his hidden wand and using both wands at once.
He managed to ask Professor McGonagall if he could use free classrooms and dummies to practice. She agreed, as long as he didn't disturb anyone. Now here he is practicing, with Croire watching him doing so.
"Uncle and Aunt IF makes it look easy."
"You're talking about experienced agents. The former took a lot of time to perfect, while the latter is ambidextrous."
"Hey, I'm just saying." Harry shrugs. "Alright… Next is Accio…"
"How about a Summoning Spell?"
"Croire, Accio is a…"
"I mean, 'the other one'." Harry temporarily stops flipping the page of his note when he realizes what the fairy is implying. "Having a personal Servant sounds good, doesn't it?"
"...You do know Dad can easily dunk you anytime he wants, right?"
"Hey, I'm just saying." Croire taunts back using the same tone he just used.
"...It does sound interesting." Harry rubs his chin, giving it some thoughts. "Did Dad ever do the spells before?"
"Did the time your Uncle got summoned count?"
"Yeah… kinda." Harry accepts and closes the note, then picks the stick up from the ground and puts it into the dummy's hand. "Let's get some spells out before..."
A small *POP* suddenly appears, causing Croire to sit up and look around the room. "Hey kid, someone's in here with us."
"Pabby wishes no harm on sir Potter and Madam."
The fairy and the human turn to where the voice is, to see a small creature walking out of the dark corner of the room. Harry notices the creature has very big eyes with pointy ears which reminds him of an elf, gray skin… and he was slightly taken aback when he notices all he wears is a red tea towel with Hogwarts crest stamped on the place where the heart is.
"Ah… you." Croire sighs, mentally facepalming of the obvious fact that these guys could be anywhere in the school. "What do you need from us?"
"We House Elves are just curious that…"
"What are you wearing?" Before the small elf could finish his sentence, Harry can't let his 'choice of clothes' slip away. "You can't possibly call that clothes, right?"
"This is what we House Elves in Hogwarts wear, a uniform we might call it, sir Potter."
The boy has to blink several times to make sure he didn't see it wrong, then turns to Croire and questions suspiciously: "This… isn't this slavery?"
"If you want a full story, go ask that…"
I suggest not to, Croire.
"Dad, you knew this?"
The history goes deep. If we try anything, the Elves won't be pleased.
"Um… sir Potter?" Pabby can't hear the conversation and asks out in concern. "May Pabby ask who you are talking to?"
Harry's attention returns back to the elf, but instead of answering the question, he states: "Dumbledore knew about this, didn't he? I have to talk with him about…"
"No, sir. These are what Pabby and the others chose to wear. We didn't want many things from him."
While he's agape at the information, Croire asks the elf: "So what are you doing here? Someone wants us to leave?"
"Pabby just wanted to ask if sir Potter wants Pabby to bring you food for dinner instead of heading to the Great Hall."
"...Can we ask for that?" Harry holds his tongue back a bit to avoid shouting due to what he just learnt. "I don't think students have that kind of privilege like the teachers."
"The Elves are always happy to serve. And if Pabby may suggest checking, there are no such rules that you can't ask us for help."
After hearing that, Harry takes a few seconds to consider… and sighs. "If you can, please bring for us both, but not too much. And if possible, please stay afterward so I can ask for something."
"As your service!" The Boy-Who-Lived sees a clear joy on the House Elf's face before the creature vanishes away.
"Yeah, if anything, those guys are even more workaholics than the tsundere CPU at Lasta…"
"Are you certain it's workaholics or something else?" Harry stops her mid-way. "I know they might be a different race but…"
"Universes work in a strange way, kiddo." Croire calmly responds. "I know your 'family' always teaches you to help everyone you can, but you should also stop trying when the person doesn't ask for your support."
"I heard that too. But this looks like mis-treatment even when looking at their perspectives."
"Kiddo, you ain't them. Neither am I, so don't try saying what's wrong to them unless you can read their minds. But there's a way to go around it if you look close enough."
"Oh you are damn sure I will." Despite not detecting a challenging tone in the history-recorder, the boy still takes it as one.
A minute passes, and Pabby returns with a tray stuffed with food. "Do Sir Potter and Madam require more?"
"That would be enough, thank you." The Elf nods and places the tray onto a nearby table. Harry then asks: "Do you perhaps know everything in the school, secrets and not?"
"House Elves do know secrets, Sir Potter, but we can't disobey our Masters if we are ordered to not say a word about it."
"A better question is: Can you tell us anything if they are not secrets?"
"That we can, Madam."
"...Do you, perhaps, know of what I did against the Troll?"
"We did, but the Headmaster ordered us to not say a word about it unless sir Potter told his friends of his conditions."
"Then… Do you, perhaps, know somewhere that I can practice magic without a chance to be interrupted?"
"Sorcerer's Stone?" Hermione questions in a small but alarming tone. "The thing under the Cerberus?"
"May I question what it is?"
"Harry, are you serious?" Ron gives him a look of 'Mate, for real?'.
"Hey, I know nothing of the Wizard World, ok?"
After another Quidditch match between the Gryffindor and the Hufflepuff, Harry noticed Snape marching towards the Forbidden Forest, so he followed the teacher on the air while drawing out his Invisible Cloak so he wouldn't be detected. After a while he found out that Snape was interrogating Quirrells if the latter had the way to bypass Fluffy. The former also mentioned a Sorcerer's Stone which Harry never heard of, but before he got any further information, Snape already left Quirrells alone. Seeing it being the end of the conversation, he quickly returned back to the castle, found his friends and walked them to the Room of Requirement where Pabby introduced him after that day.
Needless to say the duo was impressed at the sight, but their attention returned back to him when he talked about what he just heard.
"So what is it?"
"Do you want a long version or a short one?" Hermione questions, knowing her four-eyes friend isn't the kind who likes too much information.
"Basically you can make gold and turn someone immortal with it."
"Well… Ron is almost correct. The gold one is accurate, but the Sorcerer's Stone can only prolong someone's life. If you stop using it, you die like everyone else."
"So Snape is seeking some fortune and age, huh? Can't expect less from him."
"...Yeah." Unknown to both of his friends, Harry doesn't suspect the Potion Professor at all, but the one he interacted with. However, unless he found out why, Harry won't deny what his friends are theorizing. "Let the other Professors handle it. We shouldn't…"
"We should absolutely report them!"
"Too little evidence, Ron. And it's just 'he says, she says' if we try."
"...What?"
"He means that the Professors can just deflect our arguments, Ron." Hermione explains, understanding what Harry said. "Anyway, the others are waiting for you, Harry. Afterall, you caught the Snitch before any of the Chasers could score."
"...Wanna bet how many Butterbeers do I have to drink?"
"Five."
"Three. Let's go." Ron follows Hermione's guess, and the trio laughs as they exit the Room of Requirement to return with their friends.
Weeks pass, and nothing happens. Aside from the tons of homework the Professors sent the students.
And Harry wasn't actively trying to break rules that could drag him into real trouble, so he just quietly lowers his head and does his work…
Okay, that's a bit of a stretch. He's still as cheerful as ever, which many like him that way. And in free time, he also had Ron and Hermione help him practice spells in private in the Room of Requirement. And they even helped Hermione with riding brooms even though the girl's afraid of that the first few times.
That, however, changed when they found out why Hagrid closed his hut and cooked his house up under the bright sun.
"A dragon egg." Harry half asks, half confirms what Hagrid just told them his story with the item after Ron pointed out the object being boiled in a kettle. "So when can I chase it around?"
"Of course you would ask that question." The gamekeeper laughs at the boy's joke, not realizing that he's being serious.
"Hagrid, you live in a wooden house." Hermione warns.
"The dragon could just live outside the hut." Harry sees nothing wrong with it.
"You can't own one unless it's registered, and that's after checking if the owner can handle it." Ron, not wanting to offend Hagrid, tries his best to keep it 'in the book'.
"...Dragons need to be registered?"
They do. Different processes, but same purpose.
"They do." Ron answers, not knowing that Harry already gets it.
"You kids really think I can't handle a dragon?" Hagrid feints being hurt.
"Yes." And mercilessly, the trio answers.
"And that's from experiences too."
"Harry, I don't think chasing around with Dragons…"
"I have a Rhyme Dragon as one of the big sisters."
"...While we're not exactly surprised about that fact, what's a Rhyme Dragon?" Ron questions, unfazed after hearing the fact, given that his friend is odd enough that they don't question the rest of his family.
"That's beside the point. I'm sorry Hagrid, but you can't keep it around. Maybe you can let someone else raise… it…" The Boy-Who-Lived plans to say 'he', but then he realizes he doesn't know the dragon's gender yet. "And then you can visit it."
"...But I don't know who I can ask for. The Professors are probably too busy…"
"How about Charlie? I can ask him to hold him if you want."
"...Right, Charlie." The Gamekeeper remembers the Weasley way too well. "If you can do so, then please. Thank you."
"By the way, I'm curious. How did you 'win' the egg?" Harry's curiosity now returns back to the story Hagrid told them earlier.
"Just a few games of cards and some drinks with the lad. He seemed to be interested in what I knew about mythical beasts."
"Are you that knowledgeable in that matter?"
"Oi, Ron!"
"He's not wrong in assuming so, Hermione. But I have a lot of fascination with them, and the lads in the village know that. Sometimes they ask me if they have some problems with the beasts they have if I'm around."
"So what did you talk about?"
"A lot. Like dragons, chimeras, griffins… though he seemed to want to have a cerberus for a guard too."
"...And?"
"They're the best boys for that job, Harry. No one's gonna go through them that easily. But some music might make them sleep, but eh, only the melodious ones do so…"
"Uh… huh…" Harry nods up and down a bit, then looks at his watch and says: "Thanks for the tea, Hagrid. See you later."
"Later, kids." The Gamekeeper says his goodbye, as Ron and Hermione follow Harry out of the hut in confusion. None of them realize that Harry just found out a problem.
Though when they're heading to the Room of Requirement, as the duo assume so, they meet McGonagall in the hall. Harry quickly bows once before asking: "Professor, can I ask where I can find the Headmaster's office?"
"I'm afraid he's out at the moment. The Ministry called for his help." The Transfiguration teacher notices Harry being slightly on edge. "Do you require something from him?"
"Well… can I ask if you happen to know if Professor Quirrell and Professor Snape are around, if you don't mind?"
"That is something I'm afraid I don't have an answer to, but you can try finding them in their own office. Is there anything else?"
"No, madam. Thank you for answering my questions."
McGonagall raises her eyebrows a bit at Harry's unusual behavior, but she dismisses it and walks away.
"Uh… Harry, mate, what are you…"
Before Ron could receive the answer, Harry is already turning his heels and walking in a different direction than they anticipated…
And to their surprise, it's the Third-Floor Corridor.
"What are we doing…" Hermione plans to ask, but Harry already shuts her up by covering her mouth with his left hand.
Once he sees the girl not attempting to speak further, Harry draws out his right wand and points it to the lock and whispers the Alohomora spell that unlocks the door.
"Harry…" Ron whispers back, but he receives no answer as Harry quickly pokes his head through the door, and after a few seconds he retracts his head. Then, he manages to connect the dots and his face's color drains. "...The dog is still there, right?"
"Sleeping." Not taking a stop of what he's doing, Harry scrolls through the watch and tries to find if he has any of 5pb.'s chilling songs that could put the dog to sleep in case it wakes up. He notices that there's a harp next to it, so someone must have lulled it to sleep.
"...Snape is going after the Stone?" Hermione also catches up. "That's why you asked for…"
"No, Quirrell is the real culprit." Managing to find the song, Harry puts it on hold. "Ron, Hermione, go get Professor Snape. I will delay Quirrell as best as I can."
"Are you crazy?!" Ron almost shouts, but manages to hold back the volume. "Quirrell is after the Stone, not Snape? But even then, he's appointed the Professor of DADA for a reason! Yeah, maybe he stutters a lot, but…"
"And who knows how many traps are in there." Hermione adds.
Harry plans to argue, but then he remembers stories about the CPUs gotten trapped in evil schemes or traps in the dungeons while they went solo, or even when they did go as a group, it didn't guarantee them a safe route, proved when the four neighbor CPUs went against his mother in the past…
"...We need to be careful." Ron and Hermione nod at Harry's warning, as the trio enters the Forbidden Corridor…
…
'So it's one against one.' Slowly walking down what seems to be an endless staircase, Harry readies both his wands while watching his steps. 'I hope Hermione can bring Ron out of here and get Snape, or even Dumbledore, here soon.'
It's lucky that the Cerberus didn't wake up when the trio walked near it while wearing the Invisible Cloak. Though they had to wait for a bit so that its feet didn't cover the trapdoor so they could open it without disturbing Fluffy's sleep.
Then they dropped right into a vine trap. The boys were panicked, but Hermione managed to identify the plant being Devil's Snare and advised all to just stay calm. Harry, noticing that Hermione actually escaped with the method, also followed and got out. Ron struggled a bit more, but seeing his friends free and Harry's re-instruction, he stopped moving and moments later the trio left the trap behind them.
The next room is filled with a lot of birds… or at least, that's the trio's assumption until Harry noticed that they're instead keys with wings. They ignored them for a moment and reached the next door… until they found out that they couldn't open it, even with spells. They instantly realized that they needed to find the keys among the flying ones. Ron and Hermione took the nearby broomsticks, while Harry pulled out his trusty hoverboard and the group started finding the 'sus' one. After a while, Harry managed to identify the object, and he requested his friends for an all-side attack so the key had nowhere to run. And it worked well… aside from Ron crashing into the wall during the process.
The next one… had an out-cold giant troll, which the kids were glad they didn't have to fight.
The fourth room had a giant chessboard. The trio replaced three pieces on the black side, and the game started. Things went not very well but doable and seemingly safe… until Ron saw the only way to win was to sacrifice himself. Both Harry and Hermione were against it, but the redhead argued back that the stone was more in danger than them, and chess required sacrifices to win. So Ron did as he said, and he got striked on the head by the White Queen. That gave Harry the way to checkmate the White King and win the game.
After checking on Ron's condition, Harry tried to ask the sentinel pieces if they could look after the unconscious boy. To his relief, the pieces nodded, so Harry and Hermione headed further inside.
The last trap, or so they thought, was a fire blocking their way, with a table with seven bottles in front of it. There's also an instruction in the form of a poem. The two started reading through it and counted the bottles, checking which one was for which purpose. After a while, they found the one that allowed them to head further, but the volume was only enough for one person to go through. Harry then suggested to Hermione to go back and get Ron out of danger, and call for backup. She is reluctant a bit, but she agreed to let Harry go, since he's more experienced in fighting compared to her and Ron.
'Quirrell… that stuttering Professor… Now I suspect that everything he did is a facade so nobody would think he's dangerous…'
'And so is his ineffective teaching… Could it be that he purposefully did so to make sure no students could go against him? But what about the Professors? Did he already have a counter-plan for all of them… Maybe that Ministry asking for help is fabricated by him to lure the Headmaster away so he could act.'
'He is a manipulative type, then. Alright, let us see if you are smarter than Uncle Anonydeath or not.'